The Brunch Addict team venture to Footscray to uncover a hot jam doughnut secret

There is nothing more satisfying than knowing an amazing food spot that others have turned a blind eye to. It could be an impressive Indian restaurant whose name raises more eye brows than curiosity. It could be a pub known to support Melbourne’s grunge and heavy metal scene with an exceptional kitchen. These finds are special and worthy of showing off to friends and family.
Footscray does get a bad wrap, but it would be a serious mistake to write it off. There is one sweet spot that everyone should be made aware of. It’s known by some as ‘Footscray doughnuts’ or ‘the train station doughnuts’, but officially it’s called Olympic Doughnuts.

Olympic Doughnuts is a Footscray institution. It has been operating long before anyone can remember and still serves the traditional jam doughnut – crispy medium size balls filled with warm gooey berry jam. Situated just near the entrance to Footscray train station on Irving Street, it is perfect for all occasions. Whether its passersby having an afternoon snack, the work / school crowd tempted by the delicious smell or just to celebrate the small things in life – it’s very hard to resist buying a few doughnuts.

Housed in a portable caravan, the set up has retained its vintage look with a few bumps and cracks to show its true age. The operation is flawless as a two-person operation. Without fail the old man still wears his industrial looking white jacket as he methodically goes about his task of sugaring the donuts and injecting the jam, using the iconic dolphin dispenser. The other person is in charge with kneading the dough and deep frying them to perfection. It might be a little slow to get these doughnuts, but perfection shouldn’t be rushed.

Each doughnut is less than a dollar, with the taste just as phenomenal. It’s lightly deep-fried with a succulent crunch and deliciously soft center. The outside sugar dusting, provides the necessary sweetness to the dough. As for the jam, it is a classic. Rich in colour with a slightly artificial flavour, it’s so good it doesn’t really matter. By the time we were finished with our first we wanted to start on our second.

This classic doughnut shop has all the right components to win a gold medal, each and every time.